1. The verb 有 (1) The verb 有 covers both possession and existence. In this unit, we learn 有 as posession: “to have” and “to posess”, e.g. (1)我 有 姐 姐 。 I have elder sisters. (2)你 有 姐 妹 吗 ？ Do you have sisters. *The verb 有 is negated by 没 : always 没 有 , never 不 有 . (3)我 没 有 妹 妹 。 I don’t have younger sisters. (4)他 们 都 没 有 书 。 None of them have books. *In a negative sentence, 有 can be omited; e.g. (5)他 没 (有 )哥 哥 ， 我 也 没 (有 )哥 哥 。 He does not have older brothers, neither do I. *The affirmative and negative question form of 有 is ...有 没 有 ...; (6)你 有 没 有 姐 妹 ？ (7)他 有 没 有 汉 语 书 ？ Sentence Patterns with 有 (1) Subject Predicate noun/pronoun verb oun/phrase particle 妈 妈 有 地 图 吗 他 没有 好 的 纸 姐 姐 有 孩 子 妹 妹 没有 日 本 车 2. Measure words: *When a noun is counted, a measure word should be placed between the number and the noun: (1)三 个 朋 友 three friends (2)一 个 大 夫 one doctor (3)十 个 姐 妹 ten sisters There are several dozen measure words in Chinese. Many nouns only take specific measure words. 个 is the most commonly used one. It can be used to quantify persons, things and sometimes, even units. (4) 两 个 姐 妹 two sisters (5) 一 个 学 院 one institute 个 and 位 can both be used to quantify persons, but 位 is used with nouns of personal reference in a polite manmer with the exception of 人 . Therefore there is no such form as 一 位 人 . (6) 一 位 老 人 an old man (7) 一 位 小 朋 友 one little friend 本 is used for bound copies such as books, magazines, etc. (8)一 本 词 典 one dictionary (9)七 本 日 语 书 seven Japanese books *When a noun or a noun phrase is modified by demonstrative pronouns 这 /那 ， or by the interrogative pronoun 哪 , a measure world is usually present between the demonstrative and the noun or the noun phrase. (10)这 个 车 this car (11)哪 个 王 老 师 which Teacher Wang Such a construction may also include a number befor the measure word: (12)那 三 本 英 语 书 those three English books 3. 几 and 多 少 : 几 and 多 少 both mean “how many” or “how much” in English. In usage, 几 applies to small numbers, while 多 少 applies to numbers expected to be larger than 10. Grammatically they differ in that 几 always combined with a measure word, whereas after 多 少 , the measure word is optional; e.g.: (13)你 有 几 个 姐 姐 ？ How many older sisters do you have? (14)他 们 有 几 个 孩 子 ？ How many children do they have? (15)这 个 老 师 有 多 少 (个 )学 生 ？ How many students does this teacher have? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. 两 and 二 : Both 两 and 二 mean “two”. When “two” is followed by measure word, 两 is used instead of 二 : (16)两 个 人 two persons (17)两 个 孩 子 two children (18)两 本 法 语 画 报 two French pictorials 5. Prepositional phrases modifying verbs: A prepositional phrase is a preposition followed by its object; e.g.: (19) 在 银 行 at a bank (20) 在 中 国 in China (21) 给 她 to her/for her *A prepositional phrase precedes the main verb of the sentence: (22) 他 在 中 国 学 习 He studies in China. (23) 我 给 她 写 信 I write a letter to her. *To form a negative sentence, 不 is placed before the prepositional phrase, and not before the main verb: (24)他 不 在 这 儿 喝 茶 。 He does not drink here. *Averbs, such as 常 ,都 ,也 ,are also placed before the prepositional phrase. (25)我 常 给 他 写 信 。 I write to him often. Sentence Patterns with Prepositional Phrases Subject Predicate noun/pron. Averb prep. phrase verb noun/pronoun particle 我 不 在 家 看 汉 语 书 吗 老 师 也 常 常 在 学 院 住 爸 爸 在 商 店 工 作 他 给 学 生 介 绍 美 国 6. Prefix 小 and 老 : 小 (young) and 老 (old ) are prefixed to family names to form nicknames in less formal situations for both genders; whether one is 老 or 小 depends on one’s relative age and seniority within one’s social group. 7. The expression of 问 X好 *问 X好 is an expression used to ask someone to give one’s love or send one’s regards to a third person; e.g.: (26) 问 你 爸 爸 好 。 Best reagards to your Dad. (27) 问 小 丁 好 。 Say “Hi” to Xiao Ding. *X 问 你 好 is used by the spaeker when he/she gives the regards of a third person to the person spoken to. (28) 妈 妈 问 你 好 。 Mom sends her love to you. 8. The expression of 一 个 人 : 一 个 人 can also mean “by oneself” and “alone” in English. It is an adverbial phrase. When it is used to modify a verb, it proceeds the verb in a sentence. (29) 老 王 一 个 人 喝 茶 。 Lao Wang drinks tea by himself. (30) 你 一 个 人 看 书 吗 ？ Do you read alone?
